Apparatus for marine seismic prospecting



March 13, 1951 J. J. BABB ErAL APPARATUS FOR MARINE SEISMIC PROSPECTING Filed Aug. 29, 1947 L if Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MARINE SEISMIC PROSPECTING Application August 29, 1947, Serial No. 771,344

3 Claims.

This invention relates to seismic surveying and prospecting and more particularly to novel methods of and apparatus for conducting seismic surveys in areas covered by water.

In conducting seismic surveys in areas covered by water several important problems are encountered that are peculiar to underwater operations. These problems include the maintenance of predetermined relative spacing among the seismometers of the spread, the maintenance of predetermined spacing of the seismometers from the bottom, the maintenance i location with respect to the shot point and the movement of the spread to and from the several locations from which data is to be obtained.

While there has been considerable activity directed to the solution oi' the foregoing problems, the results have been generally discouraging in that the solution of one o the problems has tended to result in magnification of another. Thus, the overall results obtainable from submarine seismic surveys have been heretofore less satisfactory than like surveys involving areas the surface of which is not covered by water.

One attempt to solve the problem of transporting the spread from location to location involves the use of floats for keeping the seismometers of the spread at or near the surface of the Water. This scheme, While facilitating towing, has the disadvantage that the spread must be anchored at both ends to prevent displacements or lateral drift due to water current conditions and does not result in predetermined spacing of the seismometers from the bottom. Other schemes, which involve iioating the seismometers during towing and sinking them during the shooting, have been found to be unsatisfactory since the sinking of the seismometers of a spread necessarily results in displacement of the spread components so that the operators cannot be sure of the exact location of the spread or the seismometers thereof at the time the shot is made.

It is therefore an object oi this invention to solve all of the foregoing problems in such a way as to improve the accuracy oi submarine seismic surveys and to facilitate the transportation of the seismometer spread from one location to another.

It is contemplated, according to the present invention, to provide a seismometer spread comprising a cable to which buoyant seism @meters are attached by iiexible taps so that the assembly may be towed along the bottom with the cable following the contours of the bottom. When the desired location is reached the buoyant seismometers assume automatically predetermined positions relative to the bottom and to each other.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following description thereof in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure l is a general view of the apparatus of the present invention showing a typical disposition of the spread on location;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of a seismometer assembly and a pivotal mounting arrangement therefor; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the cable of the seismometer spread of Figure l.

In Figure l the numeral IB is employed to designate generally the seismometer spread. This spread is comprised of a flexible cable Il, a plurality of seismcmeters l2 and a plurality of iiexible taps I3, each connecting one of the seismometers to the cable Il. The cable itself is subdivided into several components or sections by strain relievers I4, the details of which are shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

Electrical connections from each of seismometers l2 pass through the taps I3 and into and through the cable Il, one end of which is connected to a winch l 5 or other paying out and retracting device which is mounted on a ship or boat l. Also connected to the ship or boat are a plul rality of lines leading to submarine explosive charges which are discharged to set in motion the sound Waves detected by the seismometers I2. One such charge is shown at Il in Figure l of the drawing, lines I8 leading therefrom to the ship IG so that the detonation of the charge may be controlled by ship borne personnel. It is, of course, not necessary that the charge be red from the boat on which the recording is done and, in that oase, the charge is fired from a separate boat on verbal orders from en observer and the time break is recorded after it has been transmitted to the recording boat by radio.

On board the ship I6 there is mounted suitable apparatus for recording the output of the several seismometers. Since this apparatus is Well known to the art and forms no part of the present invention, detailed description thereof is not deemed to be necessary.

Upon reference to Figure 1 it will be noted that the spread l0, as a whole, is in contact with the bottom or floor of the body of water under which determinations are to be made. It will also be noted that the cable l! follows the contour of the bottom despite the existence of possible irregularities therein. This result i'lows from the fact that the spread as a whole has an apparent specic gravity greater than l, the cable being suitably weighted so as to keep it in contact with the bottom at all times, except, of course, for the leading portion of the cable between the right-hand strain reliever of Figure 1 and the ship. The seismometers, on the other hand, are rendered buoyant `by any convenient means such as a sealed gas chamber, floats or the like so that their apparent specific gravity is less than 1. This being the case, the buoyant seismometers pull the flexible taps I3 up from the cable and the seismometers lie in Xed, spaced relation above the cable, and, hence, above the bottom of the body of Water. The spacing between the seismometers is, of course, predetermined by the point of attachment to the cable and the spacing above the bottom is predetermined by the length of the tap between the cable and the seismometer. Thus, if all of the taps' between the respective seismometers' and the cable are of equal length, all of the seismometers will be an equal `distance above the bottom'of the body of the water sok that inaccuracies heretofore encountered in operations of this kind are wholly avoided.

Naturally the water currents tend to affect the position of the seismometers and, should operations be conducted on locations where currents are very strong, the individual seismometers may be mounted to pivot at the end of the taps so as i to maintain a substantially vertical position despite some inclination of the taps relative to the vertical. This arrangement is shown in Figure 2 wherein the numeral 223 represents a sealed cylinder containing a seismometer in the bottom and buoyant material in the top. The numerals 2| represent studs located on the center of gravity of the cylinder Zil which coact with a bridle 22 to further furnish a lead into the seismometer from the respective tap I3.

Figure 1 illustrates the seismometer spread on location and indicates the detonation of the charge at Il and the reflection of the sound waves from a substrata i9 to the several seismometers i2. It is understood, of course, that several charges may be detonated at various points including various depths of water with respect to the seismometer spread at any given location. After determinations have been made at one location, the spread is moved to another location, and here again an advantage of the present invention becomes apparent. Due to the apparent specific gravity Vof the spread and the buoyancy of the seismometers, the spread may Vbe towed from location to location along the bottorn of the body of water, thereby avoiding the necessity for raising the spread during towing operations and inaccuracies which result from sinking the spread on location. To tow, the lines i8, if they are used, are reeled in and the ship is moved to the new location dragging the spread along the bottom from its stern. Naturally, during movement through the water the seismometers will tend to assume an acute angle with respect to the cable due to the resistance offered by the water, but the buoyancy of the seismometers is such that they will maintain a position spaced somewhat above the cable. When the new location is reached, the ship is stopped. As

soon as the forward motion has ceased the seismometers attached to the flexible taps will assume a vertical position, as shown in Figure 1. Thereafter further determinations may be made as heretofore described.

During the towing of the cable from location to location it has been found that the use of one or more strain-relievers ,along the length` of the cable is helpful. In Figure 3 one of these strain relievers is shown in detail. In effect, the electrical conductors 23 passing through the cable are divided into two or more paths and a resilient member such as a spring 24 is disposed centrally among the cable divisions. The length of the cable subdivisions is considerably greater than the over-all length of the spring in its retracted or normal position so that in the event of engaging a sea bottom obstacle, considerable resiliency lengthwise of the cable is afforded without placing the cable itself under conditions of excessive tension. Thus, upon encountering an obstacle, the spring 24 can be stretched and the cable components around the spring can straighten out to a considerable degree before they themselves are under any material tension. Naturally, instead of a spring as shown at 24, any other resilient means may be used. It is contemplated that the cable may consist of a central flexible core such as is shown at 25 around which the various lead Wires and conductors from the several seismometers are wound. The entire cable assembly will, of course, be suitably insulated, weighted and protected from the inuences of water.

In the appended claims reference to the specic gravity of water will be understood to mean the specic gravity of the water in which the spread is operated, and not necessarily the specic gravity of pure fresh water. This is apparent when it is borne in mind that prospecting in both salt and fresh water can be eiected according to the present invention.

While this invention has been described with reference to but a single embodiment thereof, it is apparent that various changes and modications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A seismometer spread for submarine prospecting that comprises a plurality of seismometer units each including a seismometer for converting seismic signals into electrical signals and flotation means which taken with the seismometer will make the seismometer unit have an apparent specific gravity less than that of water in which it is to be used, a flexible electro-conductive cable attached to each seismometer unit for carrying the electrical signals from the seismometer in the unit and positioning the seismometer unit, and a main electro-conductive cable to which the first-mentioned cables are connected at Vspaced positions, said main seismometer cable serving to conduct the signals from the seismometers to the surface of the water and being sufficiently heavier than the water it displaces so that it will sink to the bottom of the water and drag the seismometer units down to xed positions above it, which positions will be determined by the lengths of the first-mentioned seismometer cables.

2. A seismometer spread as dened in claim l further characterized in that each seismometer is pivotally mounted in the seismometer unit and so balanced as to cause it to maintain a substantially upright position.

3. A seismometer spread as dened in claim 1 further characterized in that the main cable is provided at at least one `point along its length with a resilient take-up to prevent a straining of electrical connections in the spread.

JOHN J. BABB. NEAL J. SMITH.

(References on following page) l REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 6 Name Date Flude July 13, 1943 Williams Sept. 17, 1946 Flude July 8, 1947 Williams Sept. 2, 1947 Feaster Jan. 20, 1948 Dansard May 11, 1948 Peterson Sept. 14, 1948 Paslay Mar. 29, 1949 

